Backlash
by TheThaumaturge
Summary: Dark Wizard attacks were just stories their parents told them at bedtime. But now they are wide awake, and Hogwarts is being overthrown, leaving just one question: Do they follow in their parents footsteps? "Falling from the Gryffindor Tower was an odd sensation. She had fallen playing Quidditch before, but falling from a burning tower… "
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Rose woke to screaming. It was eerily dark, until she pulled back the curtains surrounding her four-poster bed. The smell of smoke assailed her nose, and she instantly began to cough. She looked around at her dormitory, seeing two of her mates were awake in the room, Thalia and Lisa, just as confused as she. Smoke seeped through the cracks of the door, and the roar of fire was heard beyond it.

"What's going on?" She shouted to the other girls. They simply shook their heads, eyes open wide with terror. As panic began to nearly take over her thoughts, Rose organized her thoughts to take control.

_Breathe, _she told herself. But she couldn't with the smoke. She quickly lunged for a scarf and tied it around her mouth and nose, hoping it would filter out the smoke. _What do you know? My name is Rose Weasley. I am 16 years old. I am a Gryffindor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am a witch. _She grabbed her wand. _My common room is on fire. My parents are famous war heroes who fought much worse when they were my age. _She looked around her room, and frantically scrambled to dress herself and grab some items. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw her mates following her lead. _My parents fight dark wizards. This is just a fire. _The wood door caught on fire. _I am a witch. _She heard more screaming, unable to identify a location. Lisa had opened a window and looked like she was contemplating levitating out of it. _This is just a fire, right? _More screams. Rose tried to extinguish the fire with a charm, it was feebly working, and Thalia and Lisa joined in. Rose had a feeling that they wouldn't be able to fight it. _Think. You are smart. Your mum is the brightest witch of her age. What would she do? _But Rose thought of another story, one of her Uncle's.

Rose gathered an emergency bag her parents required her to have. She silently thanked her parents for the paranoia they still carried from their childhood, as she ran to the window that had been opened.

"_Accio_ brooms!" She looked at the other girls, who were still attempting to hold back the fire. "Get over here! We have to escape! The fire-" But she was cut off before she could finish her warning. The fire burst into the room, a giant flaming serpent consuming the two familiar faces made unrecognizable with fear. All Rose could do was fall out the window and scream.

Falling from the Gryffindor Tower was an odd sensation. She had fallen playing Quidditch before, but falling from a burning tower…

She felt the familiar pull of the _levicorpus_ jinx, as if she had been invisibly hooked by the ankle. She was no longer falling, but being suspended upside down 50 yards up was not pleasant. She looked around for who saved her; unsure what direction the silent jinx had come from. But she did catch sight of the broom she had charmed. As soon as she caught the handle, she felt the jinx release her, allowing her to take control and fly.

She zoomed up high, surveying the tower, looking for survivors, and looking for the cause. But it wasn't just the tower; screams came from all over the school. Fire wasn't the only terror of the night; it looked like the Ravenclaw tower had been plunged into pitch-blackness with Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.

"Rosie! Rose!" Someone shouting her name was getting closer to her, and she turned, searching the dark sky for its source. She caught sight of her cousin Albus, and started crying with relief. She wasn't alone.

"Al!" She flew to him, as he to her.

"We all got out Rosie. Come join the others."

"Where?"

"Behind Hagrid's old hut."

"What about the other students? We should help them! We can't just leave them! I don't know what's going on."

"Let's just regroup with the others first. Then help."

"There isn't time!"

"We aren't our parents Rosie!" Albus shouted, his face betraying his brave front. Dark smoke from their home billowed behind him. Rose looked down in shame. She had no idea what to do in this situation. She only knew stories. She only knew what she was taught. She wasn't a fighter. She was a child. So were Lisa and Thalia.

Rose spotted a student exiting the school, running along. She heard their pleas for help.

Her parents were children. They never had all the answers. But they let that stop them from fighting the dark.

"No, we're not! That's why I'm going to help others! I hope you will too, Al." She pointed her broom downward to help the student who was now being chased by a large dark shadow.

_My name is Rose Weasley. I am 16 years old. I am a witch. I am brave._


	2. Chapter 1: Rennervate

**Chapter One: Rennervate **

Scorpius would often wander the corridors of Hogwarts Castle at night. It was a whole other perspective, seeing the details that were lost in the crowds of students during the day. It also gave him time to think without the presence of others distracting him. Of late his mind often took him to the idea of life after Hogwarts. He passed all of his OWLs with flying colors, second in his class; his professors assured him he could choose any career path. But he had a hard time narrowing down his options. And then of course, there was also the Malfoy family business. He could take the easy way out and concede to his father's wishes… but then he would probably be miserable all his life.

It wasn't that he didn't love his father; he just wanted to be his own man. He just wasn't sure what exactly that meant yet.

Though a prefect, Scorpius was careful maneuvering through the passageways of the castle during his late night escapades. Partly because he didn't feel like having to explain himself, or lie, but mostly because he felt exhilarated, reminding himself of the past when he did have to sneak around. Because of this he had developed an acute sense of hearing. That ability allowed him to quickly dive behind a suit of armor, before he crossed paths with a hurried rush of feet and whispered words that sounded like angry hissing.

Hiding behind a suit of armor? Fairly normal. Random men rushing through the hallowed halls of Hogwarts? _Shit._ Scorpius ran the opposite direction of the men, unsure of what he was doing, and positively baffled about what was going on. One thing he could make out clearly was this: whether friend or foe, those men marked that something was happening at Hogwarts. Something bad.

He could feel a creeping sensation on the back of his neck as all the hairs stood up, when he rounded the corridor. In the shadows, just outside of the moonlight cast by the window, caught his attention. Wand out, he approached to find a fellow prefect, Jason Cooke lying on the floor.

Dread shot through Scorpius as he bent down over his Hufflepuff classmate. Checking for a pulse, he found the boy still alive, merely stunned. Scorpius furrowed his brow as he concentrated on reviving his classmate.

"_Rennervate." _Scorpius smiled, as Cooke opened his eyes and put a hand to his head.

"Why are you smirking Malfoy? Was that you who shot me from behind?" Scorpius' expression dropped after being met with the usual snark.

"As much as I would love to hex you sometime, I would not hit you with _stupefy _behind your back… I think something is wrong at Hogwarts, there were a bunch of men running-" Scorpius cut himself off, ears alert.

"The hell is going on Malf-?" Cooke's mouth was silenced by the other boy's hand, which was slowly removed as he went from kneeling to crouching, wand at the ready. Following the lead, Cooke took his wand out and got to his feet. Without anywhere to hide, Scorpius decided it was best to press himself up against the wall, hoping the shadows would hide him; luckily Cooke was smart enough to mimic his movements. Scorpius could feel the other boy shaking beside him, and became aware of how calm he was himself. Approaching footsteps became louder, and Scorpius mentally prepared to defend against an attack.

But no one rounded the corner. Yet he could hear the sound of feet.

"Malfoy! You revived him! Well, can't say that I'm not surprised…"

"Potter?" Albus Potter's head appeared with a sheepish grin, while his body remained unseen. "You… you have the Invisibility Cloak? The one your dad had?"

"My pranks make sense now, don't they? Not only that, but this as well." He revealed a tattered piece of parchment. "The Marauder's Map. I saw a bunch of names I didn't recognize; then saw Cooke being stunned. Do you know what's going on?"

"No more than you do." Potter eyed Scorpius suspiciously, and then gave a curt nod. "Does anyone else know, the professors?"

"Louis and Hugo, the other sixth year boys from Gryffindor… but I went out alone, having the cloak. It's the safest if they stay in the dorms. I was running to McGonagall now-"

"We should split up and alert the school." Scorpius cut him off.

"I'll go back to my house, and tell anyone I see on the way." Cooke offered. The other two nodded in agreement.

"You're from Gryffindor, hopefully your cousins will tell them… that leaves Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and the professors. You've got the professors Albus- wait can I see that map?" Scorpius scanned it quickly, and saw that Jennifer Olan was on the floor below them. "I meet up with Olan, she's a Ravenclaw prefect, she'll warn her house and I'll warn mine."

"…Good plan Malfoy." Albus paused, looking perplexed. "You're different tonight."

"Well, tonight's different isn't it?" Albus nodded with a grimace. Without out another word, they set off in different directions, Albus fully covering himself once again. Scorpius paused only to perform a Super-Sensory Charm before heading down the stairs. He had no problem tracking down 5th year Jennifer Olan.

"Olan!" he hissed. She spun on the spot with a quizzical expression.

"Malfoy- you're not on duty tonight."

"Something is happening at Hogwarts… I don't know what. There's intruders, you need to go warn Ravenclaw."

"Nice joke." She spun on her heel and continued down the hallway. Scorpius lunged out and grabbed her arm.

"I'm being serious Olan! Something isn't right! Cooke was stunned just moments ago. I had to revive him!" The younger girl searched his eyes for any sign of fabrication, and found nothing but dire seriousness.

"Okay. I'll warn them. What are you doing?"

"Heading to Slytherin. Helping anyone I can." He left without saying goodbye to her, creeping as fast as he could while trying to be stealthy. He knew when he got to the stairs he would be fairly exposed though. He waited to descend the steps until it was positively clear, relying on his Super-sensory Charm to help him out.

Then began his flight down the flights of stairs. If only he was closer to the dungeons. It was when he reached the third floor that everything seemed to go wrong. Below him he heard the shrill screams of students, and he chanced a glance over the banister. Hufflepuffs were being corralled towards the great hall; jinxes and hexes bouncing off the walls, gruff threats from hooded towering men. That's when his game plan changed.

His head pounded, his thoughts raced for a solution. _I'm not a bloody hero, what the hell am I doing? No, this- _this- _is my home. It's time to be my own man._

He started running back up the stairs, his lungs now desperate for air. He darted off to the 7th floor passageway in the direction of the Owlery, praying that someone had been careless during a recent visit. He ascended the final steps to the tower, and found that there was a tiny scrap of paper. Hastily he scribbled, "_Attack on Hogwarts, need help."_

It might be too late, but there was no other option. They were in over their heads.

He called down an owl, whispered the recipient- the only person he could think of that would know exactly how to help- and prayed that the feathered beast would make it. He watched it fly away into the dark sky, and drew a shaky breath. _Next step, find others, and figure out what is actually going on._

But as he was descending the steps of the Owlery, a light in the distance caught his eye. The unmistakable Gryffindor Tower was alight with a peculiar blaze. In fact, the windows were shattering as flames licked at the building. _Bloody hell._ That moment seemed to freeze, only to be shattered as he saw a small body falling from the building.

_I picked the wrong night for a stroll._

**Author's Note: **Hello Lovely Readers! First I want to say: Wow! Hi! I'm really happy you're reading this! This fic is the first I have ever decided to post on the internet, mainly because I never felt compelled to. However, due to some prodding of friends, I decided to share my hobby of writing with you all. I am delighted that I even got feedback from last night's posting of the Prologue. I probably will post something like every (other) week, rather than two nights in row; this just happened to be a special circumstance. I probably won't post long another long A/N again, but I tend to contradict myself, so we'll see. Enough of the boring side of this comment, onto the story!

My hopes for Backlash is that it will provide readers with a glimpse of what could have happened to Albus, Rose, and Scorpius. That said, it will be multi-chaptered, and each chapter will have a different insight to each character. I hope you will enjoy this journey as much as I will!

_Review Responses: First of all, I am astonished that I even got reviews! You guys made my day! Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement! I hope this quick update is satisfying to you all! __**Scribbleeexx: **__Note taken about the Prologue and Chapter One together for future fics! __**Min0rDetails: **__Oh, it sure is! ;) __**MidnightSeas16: **__I love me some imagery. Also, I thought it was amusing that you reviewed as I was writing responses._

_Questions for readers: How do you feel about this length of chapter? What do you hope to see in this story? Any predictions yet?_

_Love you all so,_

_TheThaumaturge_


End file.
